A Work in Progress
by nhemmick
Summary: One-shot based off of Shel Silverstein poems that I can't fit anywhere else. Genres range from comedy to tragedy to hurt/comfort to sci-fi.
1. Lost Cat

Jerry stood very still, trying to retrace his steps. What did he do first? It clicked in his head: it had started that morning…

* * *

He was excited to find a his collection of emails had gone from 150 to 151. Jerry clicked on the most recent message from his sister. She was going on a road trip with her friends and needed him to look after her pet, Buttons. He happily typed back that he would indeed watch over the hedgehog. The door to his room burst open. His sister, Adalia, placed a glass tank on his desk and said, "Thanks, Jerry. Don't let him out of your sight." She rushed out of the room, and he heard her slam the door. Looking out the window, he watched her throw a bag into the back of her friend's car. The tires squealed out of the driveway as he shouldered his karate duffel bag while balancing the hedgehog habitat in one hand. Then, grabbing, his uniform for work, he started walking toward the zoo.

Placing, Buttons' cage on the floor, Jerry began his shift by feeding the lemurs. He went through his chores, cleaning cages, feeding animals until it was time for karate. He stuck his earbuds in, swaying his head to the beat of the music, grabbed the hedgehog and his stuff, and was off.

* * *

"Aw, Jerry! What do you have there?" Kim squealed, running over to look in the cage.

"My sister's hedgehog."

"Why'd you bring it with you?" Milton asked.

"'Cause my sister said to not let him out of my sight. I'm not screwing up this job," Jerry said importantly pushing his chest out.

"I'm not sure that's what she meant…" Kim said. Jack pulled her wrist back gently shaking his head.

"Just let him be," he murmured.

"Well, we should start class," said Rudy clapping his hands together.

"Yeah, I'll just get changed." Jerry grabbed his uniform from his bag and turned toward Buttons' tank. "Keep hedging, little man," he said and pretended to give it a fist bump. Buttons didn't move at all, staying where he'd been all day. Milton peered inside.

"Does he just lay there all day? He looks dead."

"I dunno. I think Adalia said he does stuff at night."

"He's nocturnal?" Milton asked.

"No, he's a hedgehog." Jerry said stupidly.

" _Right_ … why don't you get ready?"

* * *

As usual, the friends went to Phil's after practice. They poked at Buttons trying to make him do something interesting and eventually gave up. There was a loud commotion coming from the kitchen. It was stranger than usual and when Phil came bustling out carrying a large cake-like object, they knew something was up.

"Hey, Phil, whatcha got there?" Rudy asked.

"Oh, it's Joan's birthday, so I bake cake for her. Tootsie, the bad goat, almost messed it up," he said seriously. They exchanged looks and simultaneously decided to go with Phil to see Joan.

While they were walking over, Phil kept telling them that he was surprising her with the cake, but when they opened the door yelling, "Surprise!" it was clear that Joan knew about the surprise. She was so "shocked" that she knocked half of her things off her desk. Seizing the opportunity, Jerry put Buttons' heavy cage on her empty desk. After five minutes, when Joan recovered herself and was able to make coherent sentences, they sang happy birthday and sat in the little jail cell eating cake- which tasted oddly of falafel.

From Joan's party, they went back to the dojo and hung out, playing games like Speed Uno and Would You Rather. They ordered a pizza, which was gone in three minutes and fifty-seven seconds, and went mini golfing where there were some unwelcome faces.

There were four Black Dragons arguing over which color golf ball they each got. Frank wanted the red one, but so did Bryan. Jack nudged them to the side with his shoulder and handed the employee enough money for the four of them to golf. When they were handed their clubs, they moved over to where Frank and Bryan were still bickering.

"I get the red one! I'm your _superior_ ," Frank sneered, referring to his belt level.

"Fine! I get the blue one!" Bryan went to snatch it away but someone else's hand had moved to grab it. He looked up slowly. Kim slanted her eyes, daring him to fight her over the golf ball.

" _Kim_ ," Frank spat. "Why don't you let Bryan have the blue ball. Okay, dear?"

Kim gave Frank an _oh-no-you-didn't_ look. "Oh, I'll give him a blue ball, alright. Okay, dear?" she mocked. Then she lunged forward punching and kicking. The other Black Dragons behind Frank came at the Wasabi Warriors. Using his golf club like a Bo staff, Jack swung at the blonde Black Dragon. Milton kicked out against his opponent, who then landed in murky pond water. Jerry pegged his opponent with golf balls until he had the opportunity to do a takedown. Frank backed away from Kim with a black eye. He pulled Milton's opponent out of the water and the four of them ran off, forgetting about their golfing. Kim smiled pleasantly as she plucked the blue golf ball off the ground. Taking Jack's hand, she walked over to the practice green.

From behind his booth, the employee looked at them with wide eyes and his mouth agape, horrified.

* * *

They stood in the dojo again, looking at each other with bored expressions. What could they do now? Jerry gasped suddenly.

"What? Did you think of something to do?" Jack asked as he looked at himself in his phone's camera.

"No, I don't have Buttons!" he exclaimed. "I don't know where I put him." He looked at his friends in alarm.

"Are you sure he's not over there?" Kim nodded her head towards the vending machine. "You were tryna buy a soda earlier."

Jerry sprinted over and looked on top of the machine, under it, in the seats right next to it… "He's not here." Panic grew in his voice, close to hysteria.

"Look, man, we'll find the hedgehog." Jack tossed his phone aside. "Where have you been?"

Jerry stood very still, trying to retrace his steps. What did he do first? It clicked in his head: it had started that morning…

"I went to work, here, Phil's, Joan's, here, golfing, and here again."

"So we'll retrace your steps," Milton suggested. "Jack, check the locker room. Kim, look in Rudy's office. Jerry and I will look in here."

"Break!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his hand up as if he was in a football huddle. Kim shook her head in a way that said _why would you do that?_ Jack looked at his shoes in mild embarrassment.

Five minutes later, and the hedgehog was nowhere to be found. Jerry had begun to properly freak out, biting his nails and running his hands through his hair.

"We'll find him," Kim repeated for the fifth time.

"When does your sister get back?" Milton asked.

"Tonight."

"Great. We only have the rest of today..."

Jerry watched as Kim and Jack exchanged uneasy looks.

"Well, let's get moving, people!" Milton declared.

* * *

"No. There's no hedgehog here," Phil said. His eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"Jerry lost his sister's pet," Jack explained.

"Oh, well in that case-" Phil turned around and hollered something in a different language to the kitchen. He waited for a second and then there was a small _bahh_ from Tootsie. Phil looked back at the Warriors and shrugged. "Sorry. Still no hedgehog."

"Right. Thanks, anyway." They turned to leave and a tall figure almost ran into them. He had a black shirt on, reminding Jerry of the Black Dragons.

"Guys, do you think there's a certain curly-haired karate-ist who would want revenge on us?" Jerry asked.

"First of all, it's called a martial artist and second of all, are you talking about Frank?" Jack questioned.

"No, the other guy with curly hair who hates us- yes, I'm talking about Frank! _He_ must have stolen Buttons when we were golfing to get revenge on us!"

"Jerry, that's pretty far fetched," Kim commented.

"But is it _really_?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him."

* * *

"Admit it! You stole the hedgehog!" Jerry tipped the bucket over a little more. Frank flinched away from ice-cold water. Frank was stuck in a chair, surrounded by Jack, Kim, Milton, and Jerry who had a bucket of water dangling over Frank's head.

"Jerry, he obviously didn't do it," Milton said. "And I don't even remember you bringing it to Pepper's Putt-Putt."

"He did it, though. He took the...the uh…" He snapped his fingers, trying to remember what the creature was called.

"Hedgehog?" Frank suggested.

"Aha! So you admit it!" Jerry pointed an accusing finger at Frank.

"You told him what animal it was," Kim said patiently.

"Milton's right. Frank is clearly innocent. For once," Jack added. Defeated, Jerry set down the bucket, and Frank scurried away.

"Fine. Where does that leave us?"

Milton pulled out a list of all the places Jerry had been. "Not in the dojo, Phil's or golfing. We can cross out your work because we know you brought it to the dojo. That leaves only Joan's office."

Jerry sprinted to her office. He knocked quickly on her door. "JoanJoanJoanJoan. Joan! _Joan_!" Only when she finally opened the door, did Jerry stop pounding with his fist.

"Jerry? What in the name-of-the-blue-sky are you _doing_?"

"Is there a hedgehog? In your office?" he asked, trying to peer inside. She stepped in front of him to block his view.

"Now, why would there be a _hedgehog_ in my office?" She demanded.

"Because I left my sister's here when we gave you that cake. Are you sure it's not here? The tanks like this big. I swear I left it here." He tried looking in again, but Joan promptly stood in front of him. He squinted suspiciously at her. "Are you hiding something?"

"What? No! And I do recall a tank. I threw it out-"

"You did _what_?"

"Look, whatever was in it was clearly not alive, so I got rid of it. You know, in those dumpsters outside-"

"How could you throw out a _living_ animal! What are you hiding anyways?" He stepped to one side, and quickly switched directions. He flew in the room and suddenly realized why she was being secretive. There were candles lit and something that smelled _really_ good on her desk- which was being used as a table. Sitting on one side was the guy from Fri's Fries (a fast food restaurant in the mall) and man, did he look uncomfortable.

"It's my birthday!" Joan said indignantly. "I'm entitled to treat myself."

Jerry fumbled for words to disband the awkwardness that was growing. "Uh...um… I'm just gonna– are those _crab cakes_?"

He grabbed one and fled as Joan hollered, "Hey!"

"You threw away my sister's pet! I'm entitled to treat myself!"

He ran out the door toward the dumpsters. He briefly recalled Rudy saying that the trash was being collected that day. He had to find the stupid animal before it was lost forever. Plus, it would be easier to replace one hedgehog than then whole tank and habitat. He skidded to a halt, taking a minute to prepare himself mentally for his soon-to-be dumpster diving adventure.

"Jerry! There you are," one of his friends called. They were out of breath from running after him, clutching stitches in his side and stopped suddenly as Jerry threw himself in the trash. " _What_ are you doing?"

"Joan threw Buttons in here." He rummaged through the garbage, tossing bags here and there, and trying not to gag as he touched a slimy banana peel… at least he _thought_ it was a banana peel. "Ew ew ew," he muttered to himself. This was a new low. Even for him.

And then at last, he finally found the glass tank. He checked inside and saw Button's white nose, his spikes curled around his small body. Relief washed over him. His sister wasn't going to kill him. He handed the tank over to Jack and hoisted himself out of the dumpster.

* * *

They found themselves back at the dojo. They always wound up there, eventually. Jerry felt exhausted after all the hullabaloo trying to find Buttons. The hedgehog was in the same place he'd been all day. _What a lazy creature._

"Why would Joan throw away an animal?" Milton asked. Jerry chuckled to himself.

"She thought it was dead. But he's not; he just doesn't move…" Four pairs of suspicious eyes landed on the hedgehog.

"Are we _sure_ it's dead?" Kim asked tentatively.

Jerry lifted the lid and carefully scooped up Buttons. He placed it on the mat and looked at it expectantly. He poked it.

It didn't do anything.

He touched its nose.

Nothing.

"Guys…. I think it's dead," Jerry said quietly. And then louder, "It's dead! I'm dead! I killed it and now Adalia's gonna kill me!" He shrieked and tried to run off to the locker rooms. Jack grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him back.

"Relax. We'll get another hedgehog that looks the same. Adalia won't know the difference."

"But where do you think we'll find a hedgehog dealer?" Jerry grumbled. "We had to drive out of state for the dumb thing."

Jack held up a set of keys. "Road trip, anyone?"

* * *

It ended up being only three: Jerry, Milton, and Jack. Kim's parents felt it too weird for her to go for a long drive with three boys.

As if a _car ride_ would give them grandchildren.

They had found a closer hedgehog dealer than the one Adalia went to; this one being only a couple hours away. While they were driving, the called and made an appointment.

They _finally_ got to the hedgehog farm, met the owner (a stocky woman named Leta) and were introduced to all the hedgehogs. Jerry shook his head as he looked at all of them. None of them looked like Buttons. Adalia would know. "This isn't gonna work," he muttered.

"Have some faith, man." Jack patted him on the back. Milton held up one of the hedgehogs over his head.

"'Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba!'" He sang from the Lion King. The boys started laughing. It was out of character for Milton to make a joke like that, but it was welcome. Jerry temporarily forgot about his dilemma as they made more references to movies using the hedgehogs.

"I choose you, hedgehog!" Jack laughed as he scooped up one of them.

Jerry gasped. "Are there any Pokémon here?" He pulled his phone out, opened the app, and let out a joyous laugh. "There's a Shaymin!" He tapped the creature and threw a Poké ball to catch it.

"Are you boys going to buy a hedgehog?" Leta asked. Jerry was snapped back to reality. He searched the hedgehogs for the closest one to Buttons.

"This one," he said holding it close to his chest.

"How much do hedgehogs cost, anyway?" Milton wondered.

"Three-fifty," said Leta.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Like, three dollars and fifty cents or…"

"Like, three hundred fifty dollars." Jerry yelped and almost dropped Buttons II.

"I can't afford that!" he shrieked.

Jack and Milton sighed in unison and reached for their wallets. "I only have eighty," Milton said. Jerry looked at Jack uncertainly. He gave him his most pathetic look, begging for the money.

"Look, I have one-twenty, but–"

"Thank you!" Jerry ripped it out of his hands and shoved it toward Leta. "Three fifty! Here you go."

She took the paper, and counted it. "Okay, there's just some stuff you have to fill out. Follow me."

She went into the next room over, Jerry went to follow her but was yanked back by someone grabbing his shirt. Jack pinned him to the wall and said in a low, dangerous voice, " _You_ have to explain to Kim why we can't go on our date tomorrow. And then _you're_ gonna pay for our next one, got it?"

Jerry gulped and straightened his back. "Sir, yessir!" Jack let go of Jerry's shirt and rolled his eyes while Milton stood on the side smirking.

* * *

The sun had set, and the new hedgehog was crawling around the dojo mats. "Come here, Sonic," Jerry cooed.

"I still can't believe you named it Sonic," Jack said.

"What was I _supposed_ to name it?"

"Buttons. This one is supposed to be Buttons. That's why we got it!"

They kept bickering, and Milton sighed, leaning back. "They did this the _entire_ ride home," he muttered to Kim.

"It's unoriginal!" Jack continued.

"No, it's not! What other hedgehog do _you_ know named _Sonic_! Huh?"

Jack threw his hands up. "Jerry–"

"Oh-Kay! That's enough!" Kim cut in. "It doesn't matter what Jerry wants to call the hedgehog, and I think that's Adalia."

Jerry's sister walked in, her long dark hair flowing over her shoulder.

"Jerry, I hope you didn't kill Buttons," she said, and then laughed at her own joke. Jerry forced a laugh.

"Ha ha! Guys, wouldn't that be funny?" he asked weakly.

Jack handed Adalia the cage with "Buttons" in it. "Here's Son- Buttons. Hope you had a fun day okay bye!"

Adalia peered into the cage at Buttons II eating some kibble and looked up at Jerry. Buttons II, Jerry. Buttons II, Jerry. Then very carefully she said, _"¿Hermano, que esta haciendo?"_

He panicked. _"¡No hablo español!"_

"Jerry, what is he doing?" She motioned towards the hedgehog.

"Eating his dinner. I don't get what the point of this is."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she crossed her arms. "This isn't Buttons."

" _Wha-at?_ It's definitely Buttons." The Warriors all chimed in, attempting to reassure her that it was Buttons.

"It's not him!" She insisted. "I was waiting for tonight to bury Buttons."

They looked at her blankly.

"Buttons was _dead_."

* * *

 **Aw, Jerry, buddy. You went through all that and the hedgehog was dead the whole time! Sorry, man. :(**

 **So that's the end of the my first one-shot! Hope you liked it. Comedy isn't my strong suit but I had to put something that wasn't completely depressing. Most of my writing is sad... Comment what you thought about this! If you have any ideas, let me know. My next story will be posted on July, 22. I usually update on Friday's, this being an exception because I was eager to post something.**

 **COMMENT which story you want next:**

Masks: AU where two of the warriors are childhood friends and realize the truth about why they grew apart, but is it too late?

Stop Thief!: One of the warriors breaks their leg before an important competition and is forced to deal with repercussions (personal favorite of mine :P).

 **That's all for now!**


	2. Masks

**AU where Jack and Kim used to be childhood friends.**

 **Originally called Lost Time**

* * *

 **Masks**

 **Prologue:**

She turns a corner, her blonde hair streaming behind. Her cheeks are red and rosy; sweat on her forehead glistens in the fading light. Waiting for the flow of cars to slow, she comes to stop at the crosswalk. She hits the button on the pole. An automated voice says, "Please wait." A white walking figure blinks onto the screen, and she doesn't think to check for cars. They have a red light, right? That means they'll be stopped, and she can cross. As she crosses the street, a mother sends a text asking her daughter how her basketball game went.

The brakes screech and then there's a bang.

There's a scream, a string of curses, and a girl too shocked to say anything. Her mind is racing. Am I dying? She lies on the pavement not moving a muscle. God, it hurts so much to breathe. She hates herself for deciding to run after school, but then she decides to hate Jack for annoying her at school which made her want to run after. And then with a sob, she realizes that her sixteenth birthday is in five days.

Her sixteenth birthday brings many things to her mind: a family trip to New York City, (her sweet sixteen gift) her learner's permit, and the three month mark before she opened the time capsule with Jack. She wasn't sure if she would open it with him. She wasn't friends with him anymore; maybe the past was best left buried.

She feels her body being lifted onto a stretcher and then in an ambulance. A bright light shines in her eyes, and she squints away from it. Blurry people mumble blurry things. Not knowing what they want her to say or do, she closes her eyes and tries to keep breathing. Her chest is tight and there's a sharp pain stopping her from breathing all the way in.

What did she tell Jack today? That they were "over"? But why...she missed being friends with him. How could she not forgive him…for doing something so childish? Her boyfriend did worse and she took him back… If she- if- if she doesn't die, she promises herself now that she'll make things right with him. She's gasping for air now, the thought of not putting The Wiggles vhs tape, his favorite thing to watch when he was five, in the capsule, seems to have sucked her lungs dry of air. I should have put it in. You put Winnie the Pooh in for me… She can't move, her eyes won't open, and she understands that she won't move again. I was hopelessly in love with you, Jack, and I couldn't even think to put in your favorite video.

One more shuddering breath. In through her nose and out her mouth. The air manipulating her vocal chords to form a whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

There's a weight in the bottom of my stomach. I can feel the tension as I walk into the kitchen. My parents are quiet and avoid my eyes. I fidget with the sleeve of my shirt nervously. "So…" I prompt them.

"Sit down, Jack," my mom whispers in a hoarse voice. I look at her swollen red eyes doubtfully.

"Why?" She rubs her face with a trembling hand, and I imagine another weight being added to my stomach. I bite my lip and take a seat.

A heavy silence fills the air between us and then my dad clears his throat. "There was an accident," he says. "A runner was hit by a car." They look at me carefully to see my reaction. I surprise them when I start laughing.

"That's what this is about?" I ask quizzically. The weights start to disintegrate as relief hits me. "It's not the first time someone's been hit by a car. And, like, I know that's bad and all, but if we're gonna do this every time there's an accident–"

"Jack," my dad interrupts. "You don't understand. Kim was the one running."

"…But she's fine, right?" I ask, meeting his eyes. Lots of people get hit by cars and are okay. This wouldn't happen to me. He sighs and lowers his gaze. Panic rises in my chest. Kim's fine. She's just trying to get back at me. But I know it's not true. I can see it in my parents' reactions; the way they're holding themselves, how they're watching me carefully, how they don't want to say it.

"She died on the way to the hospital," my mom confesses. I suddenly stand up. It feels as if all the oxygen in my lungs has been sucked up. I feel cramped, and I just want to get away from my parents. "Where are you going?" Her eyes are full of worry as I make my escape.

"I have homework to do," I say lamely.

She's about to respond when my dad beats her. "Are you okay? You two were really close…"

"Fine. We haven't been friends for awhile anyway." I force myself to smile to prove my point, and fly up the stairs to my bedroom. I pull out a math worksheet, eager for a distraction.

 _"I'm not doing it," Kim said defiantly. "It was your idea anyway." She backed away from her open window._

 _"It's not my fault you were stupid enough to accept my dare," I said._

 _"But it was your idea so you should go get it," Kim repeated._

 _I peered over the window ledge at the roof below. It looked like a very long way down from her window, and the hockey stick was lying close to the edge where the roof hovered over the cement steps to her house. "No! You threw it, so you go get it."_

 _"If I get the stupid hockey stick, and my mom sees me on the roof, I'll get in more trouble than you. She can't ground you," she nagged._

 _"You're taller."_

 _"You're not scared of heights."_

 _"Okay, fine! I'll get it, but…" I paused trying to think. "You owe me," I finally said. She smiled, and I pulled myself through the window, carefully lowering myself to the shingles. I looked around at her yard and all the other houses. It was weird seeing them from up here. I glanced back at Kim, grinning, but her face had become pale, and she seemed regretful._

 _"Be careful, Jack," she murmured._

 _"Lighten up, Kimmy. I'll be fine." I carefully walked to the hockey stick, and as I got closer to the edge, I felt my stomach rising. It was really high up…. I picked up the hockey stick and handed it to Kim through the window. Then I pulled myself back through and fell onto her carpet. White-faced, she ran out of her room, and I heard her place it in her brothers' room- where we had ordinarily stolen it from. When she came back inside, I had pulled myself to a sitting position, and we locked eyes. We burst out laughing, relieved that we hadn't been caught._

The next day I'm picking at a piece of moss that's on a giant rock I'm sitting on. It feels like I'm in the middle of nowhere, although if it was dark, you could see lights from houses only a few meters away. When Kim and I were little, the forest was huge, surrounding our small fort and this giant rock. Now you can see townhouses through the thin trees. It's just like how it was an adventure to climb to the top of this rock, but it's barely even six feet tall.

The air around me starts to get colder, and I realize that the sun has begun to set. I sigh, wishing I could stay out here longer. I know if I don't go home now, my mother will start to worry even more, and it already feels like she's suffocating me. No matter how many times I tell her that I'm all right, she won't leave me alone. Before I leave, my eyes land on a spot underneath the rock. I know what's hidden underneath the soil, and as tempting as it is to uncover it, I force myself to leave it there. I'll get it when I turn sixteen.

 _"Jack! Where are you?" Kim shouted, her voice echoing throughout the woods._

 _"I can't tell you!" I yelled back. I was crouched behind a tree, stifling a laugh as she walked by my hiding spot again._

 _"This isn't fun anymore," she whined. An idea forms in my mind, and I quietly creeped around the tree. Dodging branches and leaves that look especially crunchy, I sneaked up behind Kim._

 _"Boo!" I grabbed her shoulders, and she let out a shriek. "Scared you," I teased. In response, she lturned around and punched my shoulder._

 _"I'm gonna get you back," Kim warned._

 _"Gotta catch me to kill me," I teased._

 _before sprinting away from her. As I was running through the forest, I tripped over a root, and landing face first in the dirt. "Ow," I groaned._

 _"Got you!" Kim yelled in my ear._

 _"Look, Kim" I said, pointing at a plastic container peeking out of the earth. I pulled myself up and grabbed the container. We climbed to the top of the rock and opened it. Inside were a bunch of pictures of friends together. There were letters, lists of books and music, baseball cards, and video tapes. There was a piece of tape that had faded writing on it that neither of us could read. "We should make one, too," I said. Kim agreed and the rest of the day was spent running around the neighborhood finding things to add to our time capsule._

 _"When do we open it?" I asked._

 _"I don't know. When do you think we should?"_

 _"How about when we're sixteen?"_

 _Kim nodded and said, "When we're sixteen, we'll meet here, and take this out. No matter what, deal?"_

 _"Deal."_

I find myself doing the math as I walk back home. If today was May twenty-fourth, then I had three months, and four days until my sixteenth birthday; hers would be in four days. I could wait to dig up our time capsule. Even though we stopped being friends, I still want to respect the memories we shared from our early childhood.

The months pass in a blur. For the most part, I didn't think about Kim. There were a few times when it hit me suddenly that she was gone. I don't know why some days it was worse than others when it had been years since I'd given our friendship a thought. Maybe it was because I knew she was okay, but now I know I'll never see her again.

Before my dad gets home from work and we have to open gifts, I trade my stuffy house for the woods. I'm at the rock again, staring at a spot on the ground. I brought a shovel with me, and even though I've been looking forward to finding what kind of weird stuff my younger self had buried, I'm anxious to uncover it.

I grit my teeth and slice through the soil with the shovel. It wasn't buried very deep, and in no time, my shovel hits the capsule. On my hands and knees, I sweep the dirt away and hold it up triumphantly. Just like when we found the other time capsule, I sit on the rock, and open it up.

There's a CD with our favorite music; pictures of our families; pictures of us together; a few quarters and nickels; a fizzy drink that she opened after shaking, not realizing that it was carbonated; a tape of Winnie the Pooh, her favorite show to watch; a stack of index cards with 52 reasons why we're best friends; a Christmas gift I made her that showed our special handshake; a piece of paper that included random words that used to be inside jokes. I'm saddened by the fact that I can't remember what they mean. I know that when we wrote them down, we always assumed that we'd be able to recall the memories. I look through index cards with a smile as I remember when I climbed onto her roof to get a hockey stick, or all the times we made our special milkshakes. If there are 52 reasons why we're best friends, then what happened? I frown, trying to think back to the last time we were friends.

 _"Why would you do that!" Kim cried, large tears brimmed her eyes._

 _"I didn't! He guessed it!" I yelled back._

 _Her eyes narrowed. "Because you told him!"_

 _"Kim-" I tried to interrupt, but she kept talking._

 _"I told you not to tell anyone -especially Jerry- that I liked him, and then you go and tell him right after!"_

 _"It was an accident! We were just talking and I told him that I knew someone who liked him. He kept asking, but I wouldn't tell him. He figured it out 'cause we're friends." She glared at me through her glassy eyes; my eyebrows knit together with anger._

 _"But why would you even say start talking about it?" She demanded. Her lower lip stuck out as she clenched her jaw, waiting for my response._

 _My eyes dropped to the floor. "I didn't mean to, okay?" I fumed. "You don't have to be such a cry baby!"_

 _"At least I'm not a tattle-tale!"_

 _"You see that door? I want you to be on the other side of it!" I snapped._

 _Her mouth opens with another cutting retort but she closes it after a thought. Not a second after she yelled, "Fine!" She flared her nostrils and spun on her heel, stalking out of the room. And then through the door she screamed, "I hope you die!"_

If I had apologized, we'd be opening this time capsule together and sharing jokes. My throat closes up and my chest feels tight. I miss her. She never knew the real reason I told Jerry that she liked him.

 _Algebra II was excruciatingly boring, so I decided to take a few slacker laps around the school and then go back to class. I was passing the doors to the cafeteria when they suddenly flew open and almost hit me. A girl turned sharply without looking and ran into me. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her from falling._

 _"Sorry, sorry," she kept muttering._

 _"It's fine," I said back, having recognized her voice. Hearing mine, she glanced up quickly and I could see hurt and anger flood her face. I grinned at her. "Hey, Kim! Long time no talk."_

 _"Bye, Jack," she snapped. Kim stepped around me trying to pass, but I stepped in front to block her way._

 _"What happened to your shirt?" I asked._

 _"None of your business." She kept glaring at me, and it was pretty intimidating, but it was fun to annoy her… And okay, I missed being friends._

 _"Kim, what happened?" I repeated in a softer voice. She sighed in annoyance._

 _"Someone wasn't looking where they were going and spilled their lunch on me."_

 _"Like how you just crashed into me?"_

 _"I'm leaving now." She shoved her shoulder into me, making me move and stalked off._

 _"Ohhh, Ki-im!" I shouted as I caught up to her. I marched along beside her and said, "So guess what."_

 _She stopped and looked at me with so much contemptment that I actually took a couple steps back. "What do you want, Jack!" she yelled. "I'm having a really shitty day, and you are not helping. Why won't you fucking leave me alone!" I glanced around hoping there weren't any teachers; thank God there weren't. There were tears in her eyes and I didn't realize how bad I screwed up. I felt terrible._

 _"I didn't mean to upset you, Kim," I said. "Really. I just… I missed being friends, okay? I was hoping we could make up before we turned sixteen and opened the time capsule."_

 _She scoffed. "We can't be friends again, Jack. You ruined that. Open the time capsule by yourself."_

 _"Then what can I do to fix it?" I ran a hand through my hair. "There must be something."_

 _"That's where you and I are different," she said. She looked sad, which made me a little hopeful that there could be something to mend our friendship. "I can forgive strangers. I don't know them. There's no level of trust, no relationship being violated. It's friends like you I have a hard time with. I trusted you. I knew you. We told each other everything. And you purposefully exploited me. That's the person I have a problem with. That's the person I can't forgive. You and I? We're done."_

 _I could hardly breathe then. "Kim…" I didn't know what to say. That I was a stupid kid? I just gaped at her until I stuttered, "I have to get back to math."_

That was the last day I saw her, that anyone saw her. My mind is plagued by questions, and I wish I just left the capsule alone. Why did she have to go for that stupid run? Was she thinking about how stupidly our friendship ended? Did she wish that we made up like I do now? Or did it happen so fast that she didn't even realize she was dying?

I never gave her death much thought in May; now it's all I can think about. I wish I'd just apologized because I'm asking myself if things would have been different. If we were friends still, maybe she wouldn't have gone running and then she would still be here. We could be looking through our time capsule together. I only ever told Jerry that Kim like him because I thought I'd get her to like me. I had such a big crush on her when we were growing up, and I was too scared to tell her. In high school, I realized I was in love with her. She was my first love, and I never had the chance to tell her.

"I'm sorry," I whisper and the wind carries my words through the trees.

* * *

 **Hey, so here's a short story I did for English class and thought it would make a could Jack/Kim one shot. It's a bit sad, and I've decided to dedicate it to someone at my school who recently died in a car accident leaving b** **ehind his brothers and friends. Don't drink and drive. Or anything distracting while you drive. Just pay attention and fucking drive. Your texts, calls, emails, Pokemon, etc. can wait. I'm not trying to be completely depressing, but the number of student deaths by vehicles is growing rapidly, and I thought it needs addressing.**

 **If you have any ideas or AUs you want to see in writing drop a comment or send me a PM. I reallly need prompts! I'm also writing a sci-if story btw. I might post a little snip of it, so if you like my writing be on the lookout.**

 **Thank you!**


	3. Stop Thief!

"Hey, hey, you wanna hear a knock-knock joke?" Jerry eagerly asked.

"Not really," I replied and Milton said, "Do I have to?" We were walking down the school's hallways, trying to kill some time before the bell rang.

Jerry turned to Kim with a wide smile. "What about you, Kim? You want to hear my joke?"

She rolled her eyes and examined one of her nails. "Sure, let's hear it."

"Why can't you give Elsa a balloon?" Kim coughed, pretending that she wasn't laughing at him. Milton and I exchanged exasperated glances

"Jerry, that's not a knock-knock joke…."

"Answer my question! Why can't you give El–"

"I don't know," she interrupted.

"'Cause she'll Let it Go!" he said enthusiastically.

"Good one, Jerr," I said clapping his shoulder. He frowned and ran a hand through his hair.

"You're right. That wasn't a knock-knock joke," he said, finally realizing his mistake. "These exams are really getting to me, guys."

Kim laughed and patted his arm. "The pressure's getting to everyone. But our last one is in…" She checked the clock above us. "…fifteen minutes. Then we're free for two and a half months. I'm gonna grab something from the cafeteria. Anyone want to come?"

"I have some last minute studying for chemistry. I can't remember any gas laws," I said dramatically. I caught Milton's attention and he offered to help me for the remainder of our break period.

"Uh, let's see. What do I have next? Spanish. Hm, I'll take a rain check, Kim. My grades can't take any more hits." Jerry replied.

"You're bilingual, Jerry," she said. He lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Huh?"

"You're fluent in Spanish. How can you have a bad grade?"

"Just 'cause I can speak it does not mean I can read it!" he defended.

Kim sighed and purses her lips. "Fine. Guess I'll see you all at the dojo later."

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out my chemistry textbook. "So... does pressure increase with volume or temperature?" I asked turning to Milton.

* * *

We're all hanging out at the dojo, waiting for Rudy to start practice. When he didn't show up after ten minutes, I started us on basic techniques and then whatever else we had to work on. There was a competition next weekend that we were hosting. We might not have been the best martial artists, but we weren't going to make complete fools of ourselves.

Kim and I were practicing hand sparring when she suddenly stopped causing me to hit her with an outer knife-hand strike. "Sorry!" I quickly said. "In my defense, you can't just stop and not block my attack."

She rubbed her throat and laughed. "It's fine. I was just thinking, if foot sparring is our worst area, shouldn't we practice that instead?"

"Well, _I'm_ pretty good at sparring," I said with a smirk. She stuck her tongue out at me.

"I wasn't talking about _you_. Or myself–" she tossed a long braid of blond hair over her shoulder. "I meant them." She nodded her head towards Jerry and Milton who were going through their patterns and basic self-defense moves.

"Yeah, you're right."

"I know," she said matter-of-factly.

"Hey, Jerry, let's spar," I said. We put our gear on, tied our chest protectors, and bowed in. I stepped back into a sparring stance, shifting my weight to the balls of my feet, ready for Jerry to attack. He jumped forward with a turning kick. I blocked it and sent a kick to his stomach, followed by a punch and head kick. We went back and forth for a minute or two, and I tried to give him feedback through the mouth guard that was stuffed in my mouth.

Kim loudly interrupted. "Jack, in Milton's pattern, are you supposed to recover your left or right foot?" I dodged a sidekick and looked over at them. My concentration wandered as I thought about her question.

"I think it's–" My leg collapsed underneath me with a crack, and I fell forward toward the ground. Not realizing that my attention had shifted, he had moved in for a pressing kick.

"Shit. I'm sorry, man. You okay?" he asked and reached down with his hand.

"Yeah, sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I took his hand and he pulled me back on my feet. When my foot touched the ground, a wave of pain washed over me. Black dots jumped in my vision, making it was hard to see. I thought that only happened in overdramatic movies. I inhaled sharply and grabbed Jerry's shoulder to stop from falling over.

He peered into my face. "Are you sure? You look really… You don't look good," he said anxiously.

"Well!" I heard Milton snap. "You don't look _well_." His voice sounded distant; it became harder to breathe as the pain in my leg began to pulse intensely. My hands let go of Jerry's shoulders as I tried to gently drop myself to the ground. Some of the pain subsided when I was no longer putting weight on it, but there was still a sharp ache cutting through my knee.

Someone called my name, but I couldn't tell who. I just needed some air. After a couple of deep breaths, my head stopped swimming and I could focus on my friends around me. I was leaning against a pile of mats that they must of pushed forward. "Jack? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. I cleared my throat and adjusted my position. "I'm fine. That was...weird." I glanced up at them with a tight smiled. Kim sat down next to me.

"I grabbed some ice, if you need it," she said. When did she leave to get ice? The dizzy spell lasted less that a minute. I watched as the sleeve of her uniform brushed my ankle. I could feel the cold ice on my knee, numbing it. It made the throbbing die down enough for me to think a more clearly. "I'm fine," I repeated. "It's probably just a little swollen." I rolled up my pant leg above my knee. I blanched at the sight of it.

There was a lump -which I assumed was my patella- pushed to the inside of my leg where it definitely should _not_ have been. All around it was swollen and painful. I'd never felt so much pain in my life. I pushed my leg forward, in an effort to reduce some of the pressure. With a sickening _pop_ the bone moved back into the center where it should have been.

I looked up at my friends. I needed them to say something to keep the panic at bay, but Milton was swaying slightly and Kim was completely frozen. Jerry's face was a grey sheet, but he reached for his phone on a mat behind me. He waved it around and cleared his throat. "Uh, should we call 911 or…" he trailed off.

Milton steadied himself, using Jerry's words as a distraction from the grotesque position of my leg. "We could just drive there. My parents gave me the car for the day," he suggested. "It would be faster."

And then I was standing again, but I don't remember getting up. Milton was holding the dojo door open, and I realized with a jolt that my arms were wrapped around Jerry's and Kim's shoulders. _How...?_ My mind filled in gaps between hazy memories - _I must have stood up, we're going to the hospital_ \- and then it was yanked out as I remembered the pain in my leg. It felt like some had a hammer and was pounding on my leg.

It took longer than I would have liked to get to Milton's car. Every time my good leg landed on the ground, some of the impact went through my bad leg sending another nauseating tremble through my body. I winced with every step-hop. The Krupnicks' black Subaru was only a few meters away, but the pain had intensified. I didn't think it could get much worse, but now it was unbearable. Maybe adrenaline had worn out, or the shock of my leg being outrageously dislocated, or maybe the sun was too bright, I don't know. I just couldn't take any more of it. Was I hyperventilating?

I swallowed hard as I forced myself to step-hop forward one more time. My good leg buckled underneath my weight, and I was thankful for Kim's reflexes as she grabbed my forearm to keep me upright. "Are you okay?" She asked. I screwed my eyes shut.

 _No. No, I'm not. I can't feel my foot and I feel like my leg is going to fall off._

I wanted to scream. Instead, I swallowed my words and nodded. My eyes opened and squinted in the sun. "We're almost there," she said, trying to encourage me. I nodded again. Gritting my teeth, I hopped forward. My stomach turned and I could feel the burning sensation of bile in the back of my throat. I was sure I was gonna throw up. Jerry and Kim were the only reason I was still upright and not passed out.

We made it a couple more paces when Jerry gently said, "Stop." I gasped for air, not realizing I was holding my breath."…go any further…" I heard. They were talking quietly as if they didn't want me to hear. "...pass out…" I caught pieces of their discussion. Suddenly Milton pulled right up near us and I don't remember him leaving to go get the car.

Aftee that, my memory gets even worse as I continued to float between conscious and unconscious. I know Kim and Milton were arguing about which hospital to go to, and I think I responded with, "I don't fucking care." We ended up at Seaford Memorial, and I had x-rays taken before I was given ibuprofen and my swollen leg was wrapped in bandages. My mom came in frantically, cupping my cheek and asking me over and over again if I was okay. We waited for an hour or so until the gang decided that they should be getting home. Milton drove them all home leaving me with my mom.

I wanted to go home and sleep as I listened to my mom's conversation with the doctor. I caught them mentioning torn ligaments, CAT scans, and no karate. It didn't occur to me that that meant no karate tournament. They gave her a prescription of Vicodin to help with the pain, and I shuffled out of the ER.

Not having the energy to move upstairs, I slept on the couch that night.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating on the floor. With a small percentage of battery left, my friends had been frantically texting me. The bright screen assaulted my eyes as I squinted to read. I sent a short, "I'm fine." I dropped it loudly on the floor, and tried to fall back asleep, but the sharp pain hitting my leg kept me awake.

"Jack? Are you up?" My mom asked, walking into the living room. I nodded slowly.

"Yes, and I need drugs…" I mumbled. She scoffed and hadded some small pills to me.

"That's not funny," she said with a disapproving smile. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Mmm, waffles please," I looked at her through heavy eyelids.

"Like the frozen kind?"

"Like the homemade kind 'cause you love me so much." She watched me with an exasperated look. " _Please_ ," I begged. "Poor me, I was in the ER until ten o'clock last night."

"Poor you," she mocked. "And you're poor mother who's forced to pay those expensive medical bills." I smiled sheepishly.

"I would make them, but doctor's orders. Gotta stay in bed." I gestured to my splinted leg. It was wrapped tightly still, which means the swelling hadn't gone down yet. How much damage had I done? My stomach contorted in a nervous way. I'd still be able to do Karate, right?

"Okay," Mom said throwing up her hands. "I'll make you some stupid waffles, but the doctor did _not_ tell you to stay in bed all day."

"Love you," I mumbled. I started to digress back into my fearful thoughts until my phone chimed. I glanced at the text that Milton had sent to the group chat.

 **"When you Google 'dislocated knee' it says your supposed to do everything we didn't do."**

And then Kim responded:

 **"Like what?"**

 **"Call an ambulance, don't walk on it."**

Then Jerry joined in:

 **"Oops."**

I typed back,

 **"Yeah, thanks. That wasn't too painful or anything."**

Jerry: **Jack!**

Milton: **Are you coming to class later?**

Me: **No, I can't walk. :(**

They sent more texts, but my mind wandered from our conversation when my mom poked her head around the corner. "Waffles are done." I scrolled to the end of our messages.

Kim: **Will you be able to compete this weekend?**

Milton: **He probably can't. It takes like six weeks to heal.**

Kim: **Ugh, this sucks.**

Jerry: **Jack, are you still here?**

Milton: **Jack?**

Kim: **Jackie, where are you?**

Me: **Yeah, sorry. I gotta go eat my waffles.**

Jerry: **At least you have your priorities straight.**

I laughed at Jerry's text. Waffles should _always_ be at the top of someone's priorities, and I was not gonna let a busted knee stop me from eating them. I dropped my phone on the couch and stood up on my good leg, grabbing for my crutches. I glared at the metal sticks. I hated being dependent on them. I hobbled into the kitchen, almost tripping over Axel, my puppy, and landed heavily at our small table. I rested my head on the table as my mom moved around the kitchen with ease. She put a hand on my back, also placing a plate of waffles on the table. "If you're tired, why did you get up?"

"Because I was hungry." She sighed.

"You're always hungry, Jacks."

"I'm a growing boy," I said indifferently.

She put a plate in front of along with a glass of water. "Do you need anything else before I go?"

"No," I said slowly. "I thought you were gonna eat with me."

Mom looked at the clock tiredly. "I'm sorry, Jacks. I have to work and I'm already late." I frowned, pushing the waffle around in a pool of maple syrup. She sighed again. "If you eat quickly I can drop you off at the Dojo or Jerry's house." I shook my head.

"I'll stay here." I didn't want to make her even later for work. She looked at me quizzically as if she was asking, "Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine, Mom. I have Axel to keep me company," I said as I leaned over and rubbed his head.

"Okay, I'll have Marie come over to let Axel out, and our neighbors are home so-"

"Nothing's gonna happen, alright? I'm seventeen. Just go. I'm fine."

"Don't take any more medicine, either. You should be fine for a couple hours-"

"Mom. I've got it." She nodded a couple times to convince herself that I could, in fact, take care of myself. What a crazy concept.

"Text me if you need anything."

"Okay." She gave my shoulder a squeeze and grabbed her coat. The door slammed shut behind her and silence fell over the room. I was already bored, and realized that today was going to be very long.

I grabbed a box of crackers and filled a water bottle up, and did my awkward walk with only one crutch back to the couch. I spent most of the day watching movies until Marie came over to bring Axel for a walk. She didn't hesitate to have a long conversation with me about how sorry she was about my leg. Sometimes talking to elders can be so frustrating. I didn't want to have a pity party, but she was very intent on keeping our awkward conversation going. I felt a little bad though. She had just lost her husband and was probably really lonely.

When she finally left, I accidentally hit my phone, and it dropped to the floor sliding too far for me to pick it back up. I glared at it and then scanned the tv for the next movie to watch. By late afternoon, my stomach was grumbling and my water bottle was empty. I stood up to get something to eat, but immediately I was greeted by an all too familiar pain. I gritted my teeth before falling back onto the couch. Screw being independent; it wasn't worth the discomfort. I let out an annoyed breath, grabbed the blanket from last night and shut my eyes.

I woke up to Axel barking and the front door banging open. I twisted my stiff body around meeting my mom's eyes. "How was your day?" she asked.

"Exciting," I said sarcastically. "How was yours?"

"Full of catheters!" I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"I'd rather die than have a catheter." My mom started laughing.

"No, you wouldn't. Are you going to the Dojo today? Class stats in an hour."

I shrugged, glancing at my leg. "It's not like I can do anything."

She smiled at me sympathetically. "You could see your friends."

"I'll go tomorrow." Mom looked at me for another minute with concern, and then left to change out of her work clothes.

* * *

I dragged a piece of spaghetti around my bowl. I should have been hungry after not having lunch, but I couldn't find my appetite, like it had been taken from me. It felt like a lot of my things had been stolen. I didn't have the freedom to walk around; I couldn't go to karate; hell, I couldn't even sleep the way I wanted. I just wished I had someone to blame.

"Jack," Mom said waving her hand in front of my face.

"Hmm?" I asked, dropping my fork. It hit my bowl and then clattered to the floor. Axel eagerly bounded over and started licking it. "No, leave it," I muttered, trying to push him off. I winced as I leaned over. The painkillers had completely worn off. I couldn't reach my stupid fork, and I clenched my jaw as Mom swept it off the floor gracefully, dumped it in the sink, and grabbed a clean one. I continued picking at my dinner. How the hell was I supposed to survive six weeks without my leg?

" _Jackson_."

"Sorry, what?" I asked propping my chin on my hand.

"I asked if you had told your father about your tournament next weekend. We need to tell him you won't be competing." If only I could walk away from this conversation about Dad.

"Yeah, I called him, and he said that he had to check if he could make it. I dunno if he was planning on coming." What a joke. The last time I saw Dad, I was graduating eighth grade. And that was before the divorce. He didn't bother showing up to any of my karate competitions since Mom and I moved to Seaford.

"I'll talk to him. And you better stop treating me like the enemy. I didn't break your leg," she reprimanded.

"Sorry." A knot grew in my stomach, as I grew angry at Jerry. Mom was right; _she_ didn't break my leg, but Jerry did. If he had realized that I stopped sparring to answer Kim's question, if he was smart enough to know you never did a pressing kick to someone's knee, I would be able to compete. And yet, _I_ was the one with a splinted leg while he was out training for the weekend. It wasn't fair.

I'm brought back to reality, by Mom's hand on my shoulder. "Eat your dinner, Jacks, and then I think it's time for you to get some actual sleep upstairs."

"I'm not five, Mom. I don't need to go to bed at six o'clock."

"But your attitude says you do," she said with a knowing look. "Plus you look exhausted." I pushed my bowl back.

"Okay, but I'm not sure I'll make it up the stairs."

* * *

I woke up the next day, my eyes heavy as if I hadn't slept at all. I realized that I was missing a pillow, and then looking at my closet, I remembered that at one in the morning, out of frustration for not being able to stay asleep, I had thrown it across the room.

I hobbled down the stairs and noticed my phone still lying on the ground. The little screen kept lighting up as my phone received texts. I ignored it, and scrounged through the kitchen cupboards for breakfast.

My day progressed the same as yesterday: movies and sleeping. My phone kept ringing. I had looked through their messages briefly. Most of them were jokes passed between my friends, but some were asking when they would see me. Kim threatened to drag me out of my house.

It wasn't that I was _ignoring_ them, specifically. My stomach was heavy with dread like sludge in the bottom of a lake at the thought of going to the dojo. Was it post traumatic stress? I knew it was over dramatic, that breaking my leg wasn't going to scare me enough to leave the dojo, but there was something that made me wish I could stay curled up on this couch all summer.

That afternoon I got chastised by Mom because I was being lazy and didn't do anything again. I shrugged it off and picked at my dinner again. I retired to my room early.

Sunday went the same way. Mom worked, my phone buzzed relentlessly, I watched The Little Mermaid. At least when Mom came home around noon, she couldn't yell at me because the dojo was closed on Sundays.

* * *

And then when I was ready to start Tarzan on Monday, there was a knock at the door.

Of course it was Kim, Jerry, and Milton.

I pulled my blanket over my head in a desperate attempt to hide. It just resulted in someone pulling it completely off. I watched as it piled itself on top of my phone. Then I twisted to glare at the callous person. I was surprised to find that my leg was painless even though I hadn't taken any medication.

My eyes found Kim's annoyed face. "Get up, lazy."

With a huff, I pushed myself up and faced my friends. "You're interrupting my Tarzan."

"You've been ignoring us, Jack," Jerry pointed out.

I disagreed. "No, I've been _resting_."

"Sure," Kim said, rolling her eyes and pretending she agreed. "But now 'resting' time is over and we're dragging you outside."

I sighed softly as I turned away from them. "It's not like I can do anything." We had plans to go to the beach and amusement parks. To train a lot over the summer and help Jerry and Milton progress more. I couldn't do that anymore. My summer was looking pretty bleak; I didn't want to drag theirs down, too.

"C'mon," Kim said, pulling my arm up. "We'll go see a movie in the theatre."

I opened my mouth to protest when Mom shouted through the wall, _"You're not sitting on your ass for the next six weeks, Jack! Get some fresh air."_

They were starting to get on my nerves. It was so much easier if they'd leave me alone, and once I could walk, I'd hang out at the dojo or Phil's with them again. But I knew Mom was getting pissed at me, so I grudgingly peeled myself away from the couch. "Fine. What movie are we watching?"

"Zompires II just came out," Jerry put in eagerly. Kim and Milom nodded in tacit agreement.

"But first, Jack," Kim said, scrunching her nose in disgust. "You need to take a shower."

Showering with a screwed up knee, as it turned out, was a feat that was far too complicated to explain. Imagine doing yoga in the shower. And then add pain.

It sucked.

* * *

Zompires II, on the other hand, did not suck. I managed to stay awake instead of dreaming about my friends turning into Zompires, and afterward we went to Phil's and hung out. It wasn't until they asked if I was going to the dojo on Tuesday, that the mood turned sour.

"I dunno," I told them as I played with the salt and pepper shaker. Milton grabbed it out of my hands. I could feel them staring at me, and I looked up at them. "What?"

"Stop sulking around. It's no fun for us, man," Jerry said.

"Jack, we know you're upset because you can't compete, but the rest of us still are. We need your help to get ready. We _want_ your help." Kim was looking at me expectantly. A sigh escaped my lips, and I slumped in my seat.

She was right. It wasn't that I was afraid of going back to the dojo, like I had thought. I was disappointed that I could no longer compete next weekend. No, it was more than that. I had worked so hard to get where I was in karate. The past few months had been only school and karate. I had to do well at the tournament in case there were scouts. In case my father decided he was done being a deadbeat. Now all that hard work was for nothing. I wouldn't impress any scouts; I wouldn't get a scholarship. Dad would fail to be there again. But looking at my friends' eager faces, I couldn't leave Kim to help Milton and Jerry.

"Fine. I'll help."

They all smiled, happy that they'd gotten their way. Jerry brought a fist to his palm and said, "Wasabi!" I rolled my eyes. This was why they dragged me to the movie. "You tricked me, didn't you?"

"What?" Jerry asked, as his voice climbs several octaves.

I said, "You tried to get me in a good mood, so I would agree to help you." They dropped their eyes to the table. I shook my head. "Unbelievable."

"You'll still help, right?"

I waited a long minute to draw out the suspense. Then I smiled and watched them relax. "Oh, thank God," Milton sighed. "I'm so bad at patterns."

We fell back into an easy conversation, poking fun at each other and being unnecessarily loud until Phil kicked us out for "disrupting the room's mojo."

Walking (in my case limping as l finally ditched the crutches ) side by side through the strip mall, we threw out ideas we could do. Most of them involved two fully functioning legs, so they were out. Finally we just decided to hang out at Jerry's.

* * *

Two nights before the competition, I was texting Kim **(What's the difference between between a dirty bus station and a lobster with breast implants?)** when Mom slammed the phone back into its cradle. I looked up and watched her stomp into the living room. "Your _father_ ," she spit out, "won't answer his goddamn phone."

"Why were you calling him?" Mom always tried to stay as far away from Dad, which meant no calling, visiting, talking, anything. He _had_ become a bit of a jerk since he remarried, but I would have liked to have a bit of a relationship with him…

"I have to tell him you're not competing on Saturday," she huffed, sitting heavily in a chair. "God, I can't believe he married that _awful_ woman."

I sighed and stood up. Despite what Mom said, she was always jealous of Dad's ability to move on and forget about the family he _originally_ had.

"No, where are you going?" she whined as I made for the stairs. I had a vision of listening to my music loudly and drowning out my mom's being-single-angst.

"Upstairs."

"Why?" She gave me a pity-me-look with her lip stuck out.

"Because if you're upset that Dad's remarried, why don't you just start dating?"

She watched me for a long minute before promptly changing the topic. "How's karate?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, considering I can only do hand techniques."

"But you're helping your friends, right?"

I nodded. "It's hard, though. I can't show them how to do the move properly."

"Well, we'll see how they do on Saturday, won't we?"

My phone chimed in my hand. Glancing down at it, I laughed loudly. **(One's a crusty bus station, the other's a busty crustacean :P)**

"Jack! Who are you texting?" Mom suddenly asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it's just Kim." I stole a look at her, gauging her reaction. A wide smile split her face.

"You're blushing! Aww, Jacks, you like her!"

I ducked my head. "No, I don't," I protested, even though I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. She kept beaming at me.

"My little boy is growing up," she said as she pretended to wipe away a tear.

"Hey, you remember when I said I was going upstairs? Yes? Well now I'm actually going to leave."

"She's a nice girl; you should ask her out!" She called as I fled for my room.

* * *

And then it was finally the morning of the competition. I was lounging on Rudy's couch watching Kim quiz Jerry and Milton. They were in ironed and starched uniforms while I was comfortably dressed in just my training pants and t-shirt. My belt tied loosely around my hips. At least there was one perk of not competing. Milton answered another question wrong and Kim shook her head. They knew the correct answers to her questions, but their nerves must have been messing with their thoughts. They hadn't given a single correct response.

"Jerry, which part of your foot is used for a roundhouse kick?"

"Uh… the inner forearm!"

Kim groaned and leaned back in defeat, accidentally hitting my arm. Sparks shot up my arm. She tipped her head back and smiled as if she knew how I felt about her.

"It's the instep, Jerr," I told him. "Just relax. You know everything, and you'll do fine."

Jerry and Milton exchanged uneasy looks with each other as Rudy popped his head through the door. "Ready? We're about to start. Kim, you're first."

We marched through the door. Their faces blank sheets of anxiety and grim. I shook my head, smiling. They'd be fine.

Outside Rudy's office, there was a throng of people moving in different directions. Some competitors were warming up while others were sitting on the side, with expressions matching Jerry and Milton's. The bleachers we had set up were packed with family and friends for all the different dojos. I stopped walking. My stomach twisted unhappily as one face stood out from the rest of the crowd. My dad ignored all the calls from Mom, and here he was. The one tournament he came to, I wasn't even competing in.

"Jack, why aren't you moving?" Kim asked, pushing me forward. She followed my gaze and her lips formed an _o_. "Is that your dad?"

I nodded. It felt like I had been knocked down. Here I was, excited for my friends to compete and do well, but I have to be reminded that I can't do karate for half the summer. I dI'd my best to shrug it off, and keep walking.

Everyone made it through the first round. Kim almost knocked her opponent out, which had me worried because then she'd be disqualified. Milton broke four boards with a flying sidekick. Jerry's weapon routine almost knocked Kim's opponent out...again. Luckily, Jerry's opponent was even worse than him.

Between rounds, I helped Rudy move more practice dummies out. I practiced my hand techniques on one of them until Kim came over. "So, you've been quiet," she said. I shrugged, and brought my hand down hard on the dummy's nose. I briefly imagined it being my Dad's nose that I had just broke. She stepped in front of me and started blocking my attacks. "What's up, Jack?"

I sighed, and dropped my hands. "What's up is that my dad is here, and I'm not competing. I can't do karate. At all. I can punch people, but it's not the same."

"I thought your leg was better. You haven't been limping."

"I can walk, but it'll pop out again if I kick."

"Well," she said slowly. "Who says you have you to kick?" I look at her questioningly. She nodded her head towards the center of the sparring mat. "Sit down, and block my attacks."

"I don't understand," I said, as I took a seat.

"Block my attacks," she repeated. Kim started kicking at me. Using my arms, I managed to block her kicks, and using my good leg, I could kick her without losing my balance. She dodged behind me, I spun around, and sent a cutting kick at her to stop her attack. Our legs got tangled, and she lost her balance. Kim fell on top of me, her blonde hair falling in my face. We started laughing. We were so close to each other. I leaned in, she closed her eyes…

"Jackson." My head snapped away, and Kim scrambled off of me. In all his salt-and-pepper haired glory, stood my dad. A gold band glinted on his left hand.

"Hey, Dad," I said awkwardly.

"What do you think you're doing? Why aren't you competing?" he demanded.

"I can't. I'm injured." I crossed my arms.

"Go figure. If you weren't _fooling_ around, you'd be winning." My cheeks flamed. I glimpsed at Kim, and was half relieved to see her face was also bright red.

"I wasn't fooling around, Dad. I was _training_."

"Training does not mean kissing random people," he sneered. I opened my mouth to respond, but he continued. "If you actually cared about karate, you wouldn't be sitting out. If you stayed in Colorado, you would be a fourth degree by now, so why does your belt only have two stripes? You were going to get a karate scholarship! Now what happened to that? It would have been nice to know you weren't participating, so I didn't have to waste a trip down here."

"Mom tried calling you, but you never answered. I just assumed you wouldn't come because you never do."

His face dropped. "Jack… I know I haven't been around much, but I-"

"Have other priorities? A new wife? A kid on the way that you can leave, too?" I offered. He shifted his weight, becoming defensive.

I prepared myself for whatever cutting words Dad was about to say. Rudy hollered, "Kim! You're up soon!"

I had forgotten that Kim was standing next to me. Hell, I'd forgotten that I was sitting in the middle of the mats. I drew myself up, leaning on Kim for support as a small spasm of pain wound through my leg. My dad's mouth was open, about to spew his gibberish when I cut in, "I should go cheer my team on. Nice seeing you, Dad."

I spun around and walked with Kim to the guys. She looks at me with confusion. "What was that, Jack? I thought you wanted a relationship with your dad, but you weren't acting like it."

"I'm a hypocrite, okay? And I forgot that he was so fixated on my karate. Remind me that I'm always happier without him. Anyway, don't worry about that; you have to fight this guy."

I seized up her opponent: a girl with short brown hair and blue eyes. I'd seen her fight earlier, and she was going to give Kim a tough time. "Watch for her reverse hooking kick. And she does lots of combinations especially high-middle-middle. And she favors her–"

"–right leg," Kim finished for me. "I know. I've been watching her. I got this," she said. And then to herself for confidence. I smiled and playfully pushed her toward the mats. As the match started, I searched the bleachers for my dad. I didn't see him.

* * *

The first week of summer came to a close after the award ceremony. I was helping clean the dojo as teams left. Jerry, Milton, and Kim were happily chatting with each other as they shoved their gear into bags. All three of them had gotten a medal which hung around their necks.

Jerry placed first for weapons; Milton first for patterns and board breaking; Kim suffered a small defeat in the final round and ended up with silver for sparring, but she was happy anyway. As soon as Rudy shoved the last box into the supply closet, we were ready to celebrate at Phil's, but a woman walked in. She was clearly educated in karate, for she stayed in the doorway where her high heels wouldn't make indents on the soft rubber mats.

"Can I help you?" Rudy asked, sounding professional for once.

"I'm from the Academy of Haiyang Kongshoudao."

"The what?" Rudy interrupted.

"It's a karate school in China," she said with an accent. "We were here this weekend looking for new students."

I smiled at Kim, sure that this woman was talking about her.

"There lot of talent here but we wanted to offer one the chance to study abroad for the summer at Haiyang."

And then to my surprise, she turned towards me. "I am sorry," she said. "You were not competing. I do not know your name. You were sparring from the ground during a break. It was very impressive. Do you want to stay in China for the summer?"

My jaw dropped. Even without competing, I managed to get an opportunity to this Chinese martial arts school. "Uh-um… yeah I would," I stuttered. "I just have to check with my mom. Oh, but, I'm injured. I can't really do karate."

"You can do hand-technique and other things. Here." She handed me an envelope. "Talk to your family, and tell us later."

"Okay, thank you," I said still in shock. She walked out, and I stood there stupidly. It felt like I had imagined her. I turned to my friends, and Kim ran up to me grinning.

She threw her arms around me and said into my shoulder, "See? That hard work did pay off. If only your dad knew you got a scholarship."

* * *

 **meh** **not the way I wanted to end this one shot, but I didn't have any other ideas. I'm out of ideas to write! And I have one week of class left, so please tell me your ideas! I'll have plenty of time to write.**

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